DUBAI, UAE — More than 100 million people have joined Threads, an app designed to compete with Twitter, just five days after its debut. This indicates that its developer, META, has surpassed the record set by OpenAI’s ChatGPT app. While specific figures are yet to be disclosed, a substantial portion of the users reportedly hail from the Arab world.
However, these 100 million users have merely created accounts on Threads; they aren’t necessarily active users, nor does this guarantee they will leave Twitter for Threads, especially as Meta’s app is still in its early phase and requires significant development.
Simultaneously, Twitter’s owner Elon Musk is contemplating suing Mark Zuckerberg for alleged theft of internal information. In this context, several questions arise: What is the Threads app, and has it spelled the end for Twitter? How has the Arab world responded to it, and what are the future expectations?
Threads is still under development. It offers a scrollable stream of text-based posts, reminiscent of Twitter’s interface, that users can like, comment on, repost, and share. Posts are capped at 500 characters, longer than Twitter’s limit of 280 but shorter than Instagram’s limit of 2,200.
Twitter’s traffic affected
According to web analytics company SimilarWeb, Twitter’s traffic was down 5 percent in the first two full days following Threads’ launch and down 11 percent compared to the same period last year. However, SimilarWeb also stated that Twitter’s traffic has declined overall, even without the advent of Threads.
Despite its rapid growth, Threads faced initial backlash from users who discovered they could only deactivate their Threads account by deactivating their associated Instagram account. This was initially seen as a positive feature, but soon proved to be a turn-off for some users. Additionally, some iPhone users reported that Threads drained their device’s battery life. It’s expected that Threads will be separated from Instagram in due course, but it must first overcome several other challenges, including the aforementioned battery issue and the lack of desktop interface and timeline organization.
Zuckerberg is set to grow wealthier, as Threads, the latest app from Meta Platforms, is expected to generate significant cash flow for the social media giant over the next two years. Evercore analysts estimate that Threads will amass close to 200 million daily active users and generate about US$8 billion in annual revenue within two years. Last year, Meta Platforms generated approximately US$117 billion in revenue from its various social media applications, which boast over 3 billion active users.
Threads offers an alternative
Meanwhile, Twitter, which has been mired in controversy since its acquisition by Elon Musk last year, recorded 237.8 million users in July 2022. The launch of Threads has served as an escape for some Twitter users disgruntled by the platform’s new restrictions, specifically the limit that prevents users from viewing more than 600 tweets daily. However, this does not signal the end of Twitter’s era.
Elon Musk is a wildcard in this scenario. He tweeted that unverified users can only view up to 600 tweets per day, while Twitter Blue subscribers can view 6,000 tweets, with the goal of “processing massive levels of data mining and system manipulation.”
Roland Abi Najem, Founder & CEO at Revotips and a technology expert, believes it’s too early to make predictions, especially since Musk has yet to reveal his plans for defending Twitter. In an interview with TRENDS, he remarked, “Musk will not simply concede and let Threads win; we are all awaiting his future steps.”
Threads’ rapid popularity was enough to irk Musk, who expressed in a tweet that competition is acceptable, but cheating is not. He’s even made peace with Jack Dorsey, who backed him in a tweet asserting that today’s world is witnessing an explicit cloning of Twitter.
Furthermore, Twitter’s lawyer Alex Spiro sent a letter to Zuckerberg last week, threatening to sue Meta. “Twitter intends to enforce its intellectual property rights vigorously and requires Meta to take immediate steps to stop using any Twitter trade secrets or other highly confidential information,” Spiro wrote in the letter.
Loyalty is on trial
Abi Najem explains that for a new app like Threads, it is typical for network enthusiasts to download and try it, but that doesn’t mean its 100 million users are active daily.
“No one knew that Threads would be launched in the past weeks, but Zuckerberg certainly benefited from the fact that Twitter is applying limitations to its users,” said Abi Najem.
So far, Threads offers nothing special that could threaten Twitter’s dominance. However, Abi Najem anticipates that “many features are expected in the future like hashtags, private messages, audio and video calls, and many more.”
As for Threads’ user base, Arabs have had a significant impact on the platform’s growth. It should be noted that European users are not yet visible on the app, as it is banned in the EU.
Abi Najem said: “Most people who are present on Twitter have become Threads users, and most of those who are on Instagram have also become Threads users.”
Other Twitter rivals
Twitter faces other competitors like Mastodon and Bluesky, which operate on decentralized servers. This means that anyone can adjust their server and transfer their users from one platform to another.
Mastodon saw a surge in users last year when Elon Musk took control of Twitter, which was unpopular with a subset of users. Meanwhile, Bluesky already has a staggering 1.2 million potential users on its waitlist, which indicates its potential to disrupt the social media landscape.
Another rival is Spill, co-founded by former Twitter employees. The platform aims to foster diverse communities rather than mimic Twitter, but the similarities are still noticeable. Despite being invite-only, Spill has become one of the most downloaded apps on Apple’s App Store.
Then there’s Truth Social, a product of Trump Media & Technology Group. It touts itself as a bastion of free speech. Following Twitter’s introduction of a daily post limit by Elon Musk, Truth Social’s servers were swamped by users seeking an unrestricted social media experience.
Fady Ramzi, a technology and communications expert, opines that the simplicity of Threads is very appealing to users. “Threads looks like the primitive version of Twitter, which people loved,” he told TRENDS.
He believes that separating Threads from Instagram will engender more trust among its users. Particularly as the number of Arab users on Threads is substantial, especially users from the GCC who love Twitter and were looking for a substitute due to the new limits Musk is imposing.
Looking to the future, if Musk fails to act quickly, Ramzi believes this could signal the end for Twitter. However, if he can react swiftly in the upcoming three months, reclaim the platform’s advertisers, and introduce new features, Twitter will remain a significant competitor and hold its place in the market.